Discuss Your Experience With Diversity, Self-Reflection, and Anti-Racist Practice
Key Takeaways
Schools of Social Work ask questions about diversity, self-reflection, and anti-racism because these are central tenets of the profession.
Schools assess your response for things like your commitment to social work values, your ability to reflect and grow professionally, your critical thinking skills, and your readiness for graduate school education.
When answering this prompt be sure to provide concrete examples to show your understanding of diversity and commitment to anti-racism.
Be sure to talk about how your experience will influence or inform your future social work practice.
This post is part of our MSW application guide.
Why Schools of Social Work Ask This Question
When writing your personal statement for Master of Social Work programs, you may run into a prompt that asks you about your experiences with things like diversity, self-reflection, and anti-racist practice. Schools ask this question to assess competencies that align with the social work profession, such as:
Your commitment to social work values: Social work programs prioritize candidates who show a genuine commitment to values such as social justice, cultural humility, and advocacy, as they form the ethical framework of the profession.
Your ability to self-reflect on areas of growth and become aware of your own bias and privilege: Effective social workers must practice self-awareness to avoid imposing their biases on clients and to build authentic, trust-based relationships.
Your understanding of diversity: Schools want to see that you can engage meaningfully and respectfully with people from diverse backgrounds and that you have an ability to appreciate the complexity of identity and systemic inequalities in various contexts.
Commitment to anti-racism: Anti-racist practice is a cornerstone of ethical social work, and schools want to see evidence of your ongoing commitment to anti-racist principles and actions you’ve taken personally or professionally.
Critical thinking and readiness for graduate-level education: Graduate social work programs are rigorous, and students must be prepared to grapple with difficult subjects and reflect on their role within systems of oppression. Therefore, schools want to see evidence that you are ready to engage with challenging topics like racism, privilege, and systemic oppression, and a willingness to learn, grow, and contribute meaningfully to classroom discussions and fieldwork.
How To Respond To This Prompt
By addressing this prompt thoughtfully and authentically, applicants can demonstrate their readiness to uphold the values of the social work profession and succeed in a rigorous, reflective graduate program.
To answer the prompt, I recommend reflecting on your experiences where you have worked with diverse groups, developed a deeper awareness, or engaged in advocacy. Provide specific examples to show the reader how you have developed your understanding of diversity, self-reflection, and anti-racist practice.
Working With Diverse Groups
Discuss moments where working in diverse environments challenged or enriched your perspective, and reflect on its significance in your personal or professional life.
Here are some examples:
"While volunteering at a community center serving immigrant families, I learned to adapt my communication style to bridge language barriers and ensure clients felt respected and understood."
"During my internship at a mental health clinic, I collaborated with LGBTQ+ clients, ensuring their identities were respected in treatment plans."
“While working with a client I realized I made assumptions about them because of their culture.”
Self Reflection
Explain how you have critically examined your own biases, assumptions, and privileges. Be sure to discuss how this lesson will inform your future social work practice:
Here are some examples:
"During my undergraduate studies, I realized my limited understanding of systemic racism. This prompted me to educate myself through workshops and literature, which deepened my empathy and commitment to addressing inequities in my future career."
"After realizing I unintentionally reinforced stereotypes in a group project, I reflected on my assumptions and worked to educate myself on cultural humility."
“While working with a client I noticed they were apprehensive towards me. At the time I took it personally. But over time I realized that the client had poor experiences with social services and other institutions in the past, and I realized that my position of power as a White woman in a child welfare role did not feel safe to them.”
Anti-Racist Practice
Reflect on actions you have taken to challenge racism in personal, academic, or professional settings, and highlight how anti-racist principles guide your practice as a social worker.
Here are some examples:
"As a caseworker, I advocated for equitable resource allocation by challenging discriminatory policies that disproportionately affected Black families accessing housing support."
“Through a racial equity workshop, I confronted the ways systemic racism manifests in social services and committed to integrating anti-racist practices in my future work."
"In my role as a teacher, I revised the curriculum to include contributions from underrepresented groups, fostering critical discussions about systemic inequities."
Connect to Social Work Practice
When discussing examples of your work with diverse individuals and commitment to anti-racism be sure to reflect on how your experience will influence your practice as a social worker.
Here are some examples:
“I realized how important it is to remember that people who belong to groups are not homogenous, and to always be open to learning when meeting a new client.”
“I recognize the power dynamics that come into play when working with marginalized communities as a social worker who is a member of several privileged identities.”
“While this experience taught me the importance of including marginalized communities in conversations about the things that impact them, I recognize the systemic challenges that run deeper than what happens in the classroom and the importance of addressing the root cause of racism and discrimination.”
Mistakes to Avoid
When answering this prompt here are some mistakes to avoid:
Being Too General or Vague:
One of the biggest mistakes we see when editing personal statements is when applicants use generic statements like “I value diversity” or “I am committed to anti-racist practice” without providing concrete examples.
Admissions committees want to see specific examples that demonstrate your values and actions, not surface-level agreements that diversity and anti-racism are important.
When crafting your response be sure to provide specific examples that clearly demonstrate your work with diverse populations.
Lack of Genuine Self-Reflection:
Another mistake we see applicants make is failing to acknowledge personal biases, mistakes, and areas of growth.
By avoiding critical self-reflection, it may appear to admissions committees that you do not feel you have anything to learn. Sometimes applicants worry that they may be hurting their chances of acceptance to social work programs by admitting to a mistake. The truth is, no social worker is perfect, and the first step to improving is to admit when you made a mistake.
So, be sure to show humility and a willingness to grow by reflecting on moments where you faced challenges, learned something new, or changed your perspective.
Simplifying “The Work” of Anti-Racist Practice:
Sometimes applicants make the mistake of not addressing anti-racist practice in a meaningful way, or they reduce it to passive learning. For example, they’ll say “I read a book about racism” or “I attended a cultural competency training, therefore I am prepared to work with diverse populations”
The issue with this is that attending a training or reading a book does not make you well-versed in any one person's rich, complex perspectives, values, or experiences, and it can come off as reductive to suggest that you know someone because you gained some theoretical knowledge.
Instead, admissions committees want to see how you have actively engaged in anti-racism. While education might be one piece, it’s also important to highlight actions you’ve taken to show that you are “doing the work” so to speak.
Centering Yourself in Inappropriate Ways:
It’s important not to frame yourself as the “saviour” or the hero when discussing interactions with marginalized communities because it can come across as patronizing or show a lack of respect.
For example, while editing personal statements we will see applicants say something along the lines of “I helped a client who was helpless” or “I empowered them”. These are not a strengths-based statements.
Instead, emphasize collaboration, mutual respect, and what you learned from the communities of individuals you worked with.
Applying to your Master of Social Work?
MSW Helper edits personal statements for applicants who are applying to MSW programs, and our team of application advisors can help you refine your response to prompts just like this one to ensure that it is thorough and reflective of what schools of social work are looking for.
Check out our responses for other MSW personal statement prompts here!
